Opportunities and Challenges for Employability

Madan M. Kundu, Ph.D., CRC, FNRCA, NCC, LRC

Chair, Work and Employment Commission,

Rehabilitation International

and

Professor and Chair

Department of Rehabilitation and Disability Studies

Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A.

kundusubr@aol.com

www.subr.edu/rehabilitation

EMPLOYABILITY

Employability

Employability is the capacity of an individual to function in a particular occupation or work situation.

General Employability Skills

Specific Employability Skills

General Employability Skills• Refers to:

- Grooming and Hygiene

- Attendance

- Punctuality

- Safety Consciousness

- Frustration Tolerance

- Work Stamina

- Relationships with Co-workers,

- Relationship with Supervisors,

- Production Rate : Quality

: Quantity • These skills are not job specific.• These behaviors, also known as General Work Personality, are said to be

required in every job.• Client behavior in these skills areas is important for predicting job

maintenance behavior.

Specific Employability skills

• Refers to intelligence, aptitudes, achievement, temperament, and physical capacity.

• These are known as maximum behavior. • Typically measured by intelligence and achievement

tests. • Physical capacity can be evaluated through job

analysis, occupational therapy evaluation, and medical examination.

• These behaviors can also be measured by non-test techniques, such as interviews and simulated or actual work tasks.

Placeability

Placeability is the capacity of an individual, with his/her particular assets and liabilities, to become employed given the options of the current job market (obtain a job) and retain the job.

It has little to do with the person’s ability to perform a job.

OPPORTUNITIES

Opportunities: Global

The United Nations Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)

Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR)

ILO Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment

(Convention No. 159) - ILO, 1983

International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) - WHO, 2001

UNCRPD

Convention

153 Signatories out of 193

106 Countries Ratified the Convention

Optional Protocol

90 Signatories

63 Countries Ratified

Opportunities: National, State, and Local • Federal Laws

- Labor Laws

- Social Security Laws

- Workers Compensation Law

- Disability Related Laws

- Return to Work Provisions• State Laws• Local Rules and Regulations

Challenges

WORLD REPORT ON DISABILITY

• Total Population = 7 Billion• People with Disabilities = 1 Billion• PWD in any country = about 15% • About 20% of world’s poorest people has

some form of disabling condition.

(WHO, 2011)

Causes of Disabilities

– Emergence of new diseases and other causes of impairment, such as HIV/AIDS, stress, and alcohol and drug abuse.

– Increasing life span and numbers of elderly persons.– Projected increases in the number of children with

disabilities, over the next 30 years, specifically in the developing countries, due to malnutrition, diseases, child labor, and other causes.

– Armed conflict and violence.• For every child killed in warfare, three are injured and

acquire a permanent form of disability.• In some countries, up to a quarter of disabilities result

from injuries and violence.

2 MAJOR CHALLENGES#1. High unemployment rate of PWD

– Inadequate provision of vocational rehabilitation and job placement services to persons with disabilities.

• Vocational and psychological assessment• Skills building and academic support• Job development and placement• Employer consultation• Post-closure extended services to persons with

disabilities and employers

#2. Professional Preparation of Vocational

Rehabilitation Service Providers

Employment: Necessary and Possible• Almost all jobs can be performed by someone with a disability, and

given the right environment, most people with disabilities can be productive.

• In Article 27 the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) “recognizes the right of persons with disabilities to work, on an equal basis with others; this includes the opportunity to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities.”

• Factors impacting labor market participation of persons with disabilities:– productivity differentials– discrimination and prejudice– disincentives created by disability benefit systems

Health Condition (disorder/disease)

Interaction of Concepts ICF 2001

Environmental Factors Personal Factors

Body function & structure (Impairment)

Activities(Limitation)

Participation(Restriction)

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The World Health Organization ICF Model Diagram

Body Function & Structure (Impairment)

Activities (Limitation)

Environmental Factors

Personal Factors

Participation (Restriction)

Physical Environment

Social Environment

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Vocational Avocational

Work Life Activity

VOCATIONAL EXPLORATIONCounseling/InvolveSkills/Explore

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITYAcademicTechnical

HOME MANAGEMENTLaundryMeal PreparationShoppingHome ManagementParentingFinance ManagementContact with Others

LEISURE MANAGEMENTParticipation

TRANSPORTATIONDriver TrainingDrivingResource Use

HEALTH MANAGEMENTSelf HealthSkills

REHABILITATION OUTCOME

Vocational Rehabilitation and Support Services for Persons with Disabilities

• Why should we emphasize “work” in rehabilitation?

• Work is considered essential and therapeutic for both the physiological survival and psychological well-being of people in contemporary societies.– Gainful employment– Career building prospects

VR Services

• Vocational Assessment Evaluation • Work Adjustment• Assistive Technology• Counseling and Guidance• Vocational Decision Making and identify

intervention needs, resulting in optimal outcome of Career Development

Transition Services

• Transition from school – Employment

• Transition from school – Post-Secondary Institution – Employment

• Career Building

Life Stage

Develop

men

t

Health

Education

Employment

Individual

Agency

Group

Collaboration

Ou

tcome

PLACEMENT APPROACHESVR Intervention Strategies:

1. Person Centered Placement

2. Selective Placement

3. Supported Employment

4. Projects with Industry

5. Self-Employment/Business Entrepreneurship

6. Supply-side VS Demand-side Placement

7. A Systems Approach to Placement (SAP):

A Holistic Model

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF SAP

SAP : 2 INSTRUMENTS

Diagnostic and Therapeutic

SELF-ASSESSMENT FOR STUDENTS AND COUNSELORS

- For Rehabilitation Professionals

INTAKE ASSESSMENT AND OUTCOME EVALUATION

- For Persons with disabilities

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Target Work Behaviors

Vocational Interests and

Needs

General Work Personality

Psychological, Social, and

Environmental Behaviors

Placeability

Specific Work Personality

Persons with

Disabilities

Job Satisfaction and Satisfactoriness

Job satisfaction factors: Needs and Values Personality and Interests.

Job satisfactoriness factors: General Employability Specific Employability Placeability

The Modified Minnesota Theory of Work Adjustment

Job Satisfaction (Need-reinforcers correspondence)

Job Satisfactoriness (Ability-requirements correspondence)

Job Tenure

Fire

Discordance

Quit

Discordance

Correspondence

Drivers of Market Changes• Globalization of markets• Technological change• Changing customer-driven demands• Changing patterns of trade• Changing demographic trends• Public policy• Changing skill requirements and requisite

job tasks within occupations

ChallengesProfessional Preparation of Personnel who serve People with

Disabilities (PWD):

Rehabilitation Counselors

Case Managers

Disability Managers

Job Placement Specialists

Supported Employment Specialists

Job Coaches

Assistive Technologists

Orientation and Mobility Instructors

……………….

- To enhance Employability and Placeability skills for PWD- To enhance Employment Outcomes - To enhance Quality and Life

Challenges• Developing Academic and Professional

Preparation Programs in colleges and universities:Certificate

Diploma

Bachelor’s DegreeMaster’s Degree

Ph.D. Degree• Establishment of Office of Disability Services

in post-secondary institutions• Evidence Based Research Infrastructure

Training Standards for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Professionals

• There is a positive correlation between level of professional preparation of the VR practitioner and quality of VR outcome/degree of client satisfaction with services.– Development of academic degree granting programs at B.S., M.S., and

Ph.D. levels.

• Accreditation: The goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by programs and institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality.– Accrediting agencies, develop evaluation criteria and conduct

evaluations to assess whether or not those criteria are met. Institutions and/or programs that request an agency's evaluation and that meet an agency's criteria are then "accredited" by that agency.

Curriculum Standards: BS in Rehabilitation Services

• Overview of Types of Disabilities – Physical, intellectual, cognitive, mental illness, addiction, sensory loss, chemical sensitivities,

and other disabling conditions. – Strengths and weaknesses of the diagnostic process – Individualized response and impact (disability vs. impairment)

• Theoretical Models of Disability – Ecological– Independent living model – Medical model – Social construction – Social justice

• Disability Definitions and their Impact – Legal – Public service delivery system – Personal – Cultural

• Environmental – Architectural Requirements and Barriers – Adaptive Technologies – Support systems (e.g., Interpreters, Readers, Guides, Personal Assistants)

Curriculum Standards: BS in Rehabilitation Services

• Living with a Disability – Who lives, who dies, and who pays for disability – Impact on individual, family, and society – Wellness and health models of disabilities – Current/future trends and issues

• Attitudinal Barriers to People with Disabilities • Systemic Challenges and Economic Disadvantages caused by Disability • Cultural Responses to Disability

– Dominant Culture: Individual, Family, and Society – Multicultural Responses (e.g., racial, ethnic, spiritual, age, gender, sexual orientation, and

combinations of cultures or orientations) – Disability Culture

• Employment : Economic Importance

Cultural Importance

Personal Significance

Systemic Facilitators and Barriers

• Effects of Trauma • Resilience theories • Living, Learning, Working, Playing, and Socializing with a Disability

General Curriculum Requirements: M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling

• Professional Identity and Ethical Behavior• Psychosocial Aspects of Disability and Cultural Diversity• Human Growth and Development• Counseling Theories and Techniques• Group Work and Family Dynamics• Rehabilitation Assessment and Evaluation• Research and Program Evaluation• Medical, Functional, and Environmental Aspects of Disability• Rehabilitation Services, Case Management, and Related

Services• Employment and Career Development Theories• Clinical Experience (A total of 700 supervised clock hours)

Certification and Licensure• Professional Certification - National Level

• Professional Licensure - State Level

• Renewal - periodically by earning Continuing Education Units

as evidence of continued learning

- to assure qualification to perform a job or task.

For example, in the U.S.A.:• Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC)• Licensed Rehabilitation Counselor (LRC)• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)• Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)

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Better Rehabilitation Outcomes

Better Employability

RI has 7 Commissions and a network of experts in about 100 countries

RI can assist in meeting the challenges of implementing CRPD by providing:

• Technical Assistance• Consultation• Education • Training• Monitoring